


Rescued

by nobodyzhuman



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Multi, Pack, Pack Dynamics, Shifters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25984669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobodyzhuman/pseuds/nobodyzhuman
Summary: Charlie Hunter is a wolf shifter, one that just happens to be an Omega. To avoid his father's plans for him, he ran away from home. Now years later, he has learned to blend in and appear human. He has gotten good at hiding what he truly is. He just wants to be left alone and allowed to live his life how he wants. That is until one night when he saves a young omega. Now all his efforts might be ruined as he is dragged into an ongoing conflict between her pack and another.Matthew Rowe's job is to protect his pack. A job that is growing increasingly harder as rouge wolves keep attacking his home and family. When his Alpha's niece goes missing and then is saved by an outsider, he isn't sure what to do. His Alpha wants to trust the young man but Matt isn't sure if that is because Charlie deserves their trust or because Zach is attracted to the stranger.Sometimes Zachary Holloway hates being an Alpha. With increasing attacks on his pack and their territory his is being forced to considering a bloody confrontation.  Then when a young man named Charlie saves his niece he thinks he might have finally caught a break. Only turns out, Charlie has secrets of his own and it may just put him at odds with Zach's pack.
Relationships: Zach/Matt, Zach/Matt/Charlie
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an original story of mine that i'm looking for honest feed back. Please not I'm not posting the entire story, just about half of it to see if people like it. I am however trying to save up money to have it professionally edited with the hopes of self-publishing it soon. I did have the first 6 chapters up a while ago so it its seems familiar that's why.

**Rescued** __

_ A Charlie Hunter Novel (Book 1) _

**Chapter One:**

Something wasn’t right; the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the bus stop and the ground around him should have been soothing, helping him relax. Instead Charlie felt on edge. He wasn’t the only one either. His wolf was agitated, pacing and pushing against his mind, telling him there was danger nearby. Problem was, no matter how many times he looked around, he couldn’t spot what had them both on edge. 

He had lived in this town for about seven months and he had his routine. Tonight he had messed it all up. 

He sighed, looking around again. The movement caused his wet light brown hair to fall into his eyes. He moved it out of the way and cursed himself for taking his boss up on the offer of overtime. Being short on money, he had accepted without a second thought. 

Which broke one of his rules. The very rules he created and stuck to because they kept him safe. He already knew the area and the people, he knew that he wouldn’t come across any other shifters, especially wolves, during his daily routine. But working late at night changed things. 

He sighed and turned to scan the area again. Maybe that was what was bothering him, the change in routine. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

After all, it was close to midnight and he was sitting alone at an empty bus stop in the pouring rain. It was a total cliché horror movie opening. He laughed a little, imagining the wolf being the victim in a bad horror movie. Like some kind of a reverse Red Riding Hood tale. 

Being on edge was causing his wolf to push forward. It wanted out, wanted to sniff and check the area. It needed to know they were safe. Working double time had been a bad idea, not just because of the change in routine but because now he was exhausted and his control was slipping. He knew if anyone could see his eyes right now their normally green coloring held a slight glow of gold as his wolf enhanced his eyesight, searching the dark.

He relaxed a little when he saw the bus coming down the street. One red light left and he would be off this creepy ass bus stop. 

He stood up.

Just as the light turned green he heard a whimper from across the street. His head snapped away from the oncoming bus and towards the sound. He knew a scared shifter when he heard one.

It was stupid he knew, he should just ignore it and get on his bus and get as far away as he could. But he couldn’t, not if someone was hurt.

He cursed and darted across the street, rain soaking his already damp clothes. 

Whoever it was, was trying their hardest to remain hidden. He could barely hear anything through the rain, but when he focused his hearing he could hear an erratic heartbeat and muffled breathing. He heard no other whines or whimpers since the one that had caught his attention. 

He was afraid to call out to them in case whoever they were hiding from was still around. He stayed in the shadows, letting his wolf guide him. It didn’t take him long to find a small bundle hiding behind a dirty dumpster.

“Hello?” he whispered slowly lowering himself to the ground. By placing himself on his knees he was showing he wasn’t a threat.Or so he hoped.

The small bundle that he had thought was someone in their animal form turned out to be a scared child, a girl, maybe around 9. But he couldn’t be sure. She looked dangerously pale, her hands and body shaking, most likely from a mix of the cold rain and fear. He leaned in close, ready to help, but froze when he caught her scent. 

_ Omega. _

She tried to back away from him, her long blonde wet hair falling and sticking on her face, but the dumpster prevented her retreat.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered and showed her his hands. He scooted back giving her a little more space. He felt his stomach tighten as he got a better look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, probably from crying, the skin on her face red and puffy, and her shaking was getting worse. He needed to get her out of the rain, fast.

He was also worried about the smell of blood in the air. The smell was weak, hidden by the downpour of rain, but he could still pick up on the coppery aroma lingering around. He couldn’t see where she was hurt, not with the way she was huddled in on herself and not with the damn rain messing with his sense of smell. 

All his instincts were telling him to help her. To reach out, pick her up, and hold her tight. Check her for damage, stop her from shaking, and help with her fear. But he knew that would just scare her more, so he shoved all that down, and took a second to think about what to do. 

He looked at the terrified girl and made up his mind. It was a risk, even if she was just a kid. But it would help her trust him and they needed to get out of this area before whoever was after her came back. 

Slowly he brought his wrist to his mouth and licked his wrist after he carefully took his shirt and rubbed at his skin. It took a couple tries as his scent blockers were made specifically to stick to him. Slowly the blockers washed away, and he knew when his scent reached the girl because she tilted her head and her eyes widened.

“My name is Charlie,” he said quietly.

“You’re like me?” she asked, slowly reaching out for his wrist. He let the child grab a hold and pull him towards her. Once she seemed satisfied that it was really his scent she jumped to her feet and rushed into his arms, sobbing into his chest.

He tightened his arms around her; omegas craved being touched. He knew that being held would comfort her and if he was being honest, it had been so long since he had been around one of his own kind; it comforted him a little too.

“We need to get out of here, okay?” he whispered and felt the small head against his chest nod. 

Holding her in his arms, he noticed she was taller than she had appeared. He thought about how strange it would look carrying her around but then shrugged it off. It was late at night and she was still small enough that anyone who saw them would just assume she had fallen asleep. Taking one last slow look around, he searched for any signs of the people that had chased after her. He didn’t see, hear, or smell anyone, which was a relief. 

What wasn’t was the fact that there were no more buses and from how late it was, just after midnight, there wouldn’t be another. The buses in town stopped running at midnight and didn’t start again until 5 in the morning. 

Which meant that they were walking. 

He looked at the girl, who had no jacket to help protect her from the rain. He didn’t like it; wolves were hardier than humans and it took a lot to get them sick, but walking miles in the pouring cold rain might be just enough. 

Charlie shifted the girl around in his arms until he had her in a spot where they were both comfortable. He ended up with her arms around his neck and his left arm under her knees, the other supporting her back. Once she was situated he began to walk. Without the bus, it would take him a good half hour to reach his apartment.

By the time he reached his door both of his arms and the young girl were asleep. It took some work and some careful maneuvering but he got his door open and his lights on. 

He gently placed her on his couch and rushed into his room to find something dry to give her to change into. Not that he really had anything for a kid to wear. He grabbed a couple shirts and a pair of his pajama pants, figuring he could cut them into something smaller, and a pair of his shorts, leaving her a few options.

He set them on the coffee table before leaving the room again to find extra blankets so once she was changed and he had looked her over, she could go back to sleep.

Once he was satisfied that he had everything he might need, he shook her awake, gently. She grunted and tried burrowing into his couch cushions. It would have been adorable if he wasn’t worried about her.

“Hey, you gotta wake up, just for a few minutes okay?” He tried to keep his voice low and shook her again.

This time she rolled over and looked at him, and he could see she was confused as her eyes quickly shot around the room. Then her whole body sagged and he knew she remembered what was going on.

“I got you some clothes, so you can change. I’ll wash yours and you can have them back when they’re dry, there…” he said, pointing to his small bathroom, “…is a place you can change. There is shampoo and soap if you want to take a shower.” The little girl nodded, but she didn’t move from the couch.

“Are you hurt?” The bitter scent from before had faded, so whatever had been causing her pain had probably already healed or started to. She lowered her head and shook it.

“Hey what is your name? And…” Charlie hesitated; he was hiding from his own family.  _ Could her own parents or pack have hurt her?  _ He swallowed around the lump in his throat and prayed that her parents weren’t as fucked up as his, “Is there someone I can call?” 

Now the girl was staring at him with big brown eyes filled with uncertainty. He understood, he really did, but he had no idea what to do with her. Normally he would take her to the nearest pack or to a wolf he trusted but he didn’t know any other wolves.

He’s spent the better part of his life hiding or avoiding them. It was one of the reasons he normally chose to live in the city, it was less likely to have to have a pack, and if any lone wolves happened to be around, busy streets and large crowds made it easier to disappear. 

While not a city, Bracken wasn’t tiny. The population in town was still large enough that he could blend in and vanish, if he needed to. He had fought with himself for days before moving here. He knew he should have picked another city, but his wolf had been desperate for the wilderness, for trees, fresh air, and space, it needed somewhere to run. So he had caved and settled Bracken, North Carolina. 

The girl didn’t answer him, just picked up the clothes and rushed into the bathroom.

Once she closed the door, he let his head drop. He was so tired, confused, and frustrated. He would have to call into work tomorrow for a sick day, even though he couldn’t afford it. He had no idea what to do with the girl but he knew she couldn’t stay with him. It wouldn’t take long for people to start asking questions and he didn’t need to end up in jail for kidnapping. Because what grown ass 25 year old started having what appeared to be a 9 year old, around? It screamed  _ wrong _ to anyone with half a brain. 

He heard his shower turn on and sighed again.

She would stay tonight and in the morning hopefully he could get some information out of her.

It didn’t take long for him to cover his couch in spare blankets and pillows. Once her bed was made, he went into the kitchen and made a couple of sandwiches, making sure to put an apple and chips on her plate before placing the food on the table in front of the couch.

Then, it was his turn to get out of wet clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Zach watched as a few members of his pack argued. They had already been at it for several hours and his wolf was starting to feel irritated. It didn’t like how loud and childish they were being. The wolf in him, _ the Alpha in him, _ didn’t like that no one was asking how he wanted to handle this. It felt disrespectful and rude. Meanwhile the human in him was just annoyed. They were bickering like children, none offering any real ideas or plans. 

He hated these kinds of meetings. Especially when his pack was already on edge. In fact, it had been over two years since he had last called one. This meeting was to  _ talk _ about a group of rogue shifters that kept coming into their territory. 

His pack knew little about the rogues. Nothing past the fact that the shifters kept showing up. First it was a couple random sightings inside the woods, towards the very edge of their territory. It could have been an accident but the frequency had made him suspicious. Then it was wolves appearing in town. They weren’t staying there and there was no shopping or eating; the shifters simply came in, walked around for a bit and then left. 

The encounters were happening more and more over the last couple weeks and it pissed him off. 

While the town wasn’t as heavily watched or guarded, at least not like the lands the pack house was on, it was still their territory and it seemed like these rogues were trying to test them, see how they responded, and that made him nervous. 

It made his pack anxious. While they had done a good job of chasing or scaring off the rogues, the outsiders didn’t stay away long. His pack, _ he, _ felt threatened. 

The wolf in him wanted to fight, it wanted to protect his home and pack, rip apart anyone or thing that threatened his family, but the human in him knew they had to work out a plan. This was deliberate; these rogues wanted something, and he knew that he needed to think instead of act. While he always felt he was a strong Alpha and a good leader, this diplomatic, talking thing, wasn’t his forte. Hence, the meeting... which he was now starting to regret. 

While two of his wolves screamed at each other, he wondered if it was his fault that these other wolves were testing them. His pack hadn’t faced a threat in years; maybe they had let the peace lure them into a false sense of security.

There was a growl from his second, Matthew, causing Chris, the one arguing with him, to lower his head in submission, “We should stop with the scare tactics and actually punish these trespassers.” His friend’s golden eyes found his, as Matt’s wolf showed its displeasure at the situation. Even sitting down the man was intimidating. 

Normally his second didn’t have to use his dominance or show his wolf to get his way. His broad shoulders and height of over 6’3” kept most people in line. The fact that he was allowing his wolf to show now meant he was beyond pissed at what had happened and unhappy that his advice wasn’t being listened to.

Zach wanted to agree, he normally did agree with Matt. The man was smart and loyal, traits that made it easy for him to be next in charge. But this time he had his doubts. He didn’t want to start a war with another pack until he had all the information. Something about the way they were coming one or two at a time instead of in big groups was bothering him. It seemed like they were being studied.

Watching them argue, he decided to put the meeting to an end for the night, as this was getting them nowhere, when his office door burst open, slamming into the wall, the sound vibrating through the room, which had fallen silent.

Zach felt his wolf raise its hackles, a growl escaping his throat, before he even processed who had interrupted the meeting. Both him and his wolf stopped when they saw Jason leaning against the open door. 

The young wolf was pale and shaking. He seemed to be trying to talk but was out of breath and his teeth had started to change. A sign his wolf was fighting to take control.

When the smell of copper reached his nose, Zachary got up immediately and rushed to his nephew. He heard his pack around him start to move around, probably looking out the windows and door for a possible threat. 

“Jay, what happened?” He tried to remain calm but his wolf was worried about his kin. His eyebrows pulled together from concern and the effort from reigning in his wolf.

“Em-ily,” the young wolf stuttered out.

Zach’s heart stopped. He looked at Matthew and back at the door, his second must have seen the fear he felt on his face, because he turned and ran out of the room. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” the younger man repeated, freaking out. Panic, fear, and guilt were coming off Jason in waves, the scent permeating the air. Zach’s attention was drawn back to the younger wolf, and he wrapped his hand around his nephew’s neck and squeezed, his grip firm but not damaging. The reaction was immediate as Jason’s body lost some of it’s tension and he leaned into Zach’s touch. 

Even with Jason somewhat relaxed, Zach could still hear Jay mumbling how sorry he was and he could feel how badly his nephew’s body was shaking under his hand. 

“ _ Calm down, _ ” he ordered in a voice that only an Alpha could use. 

This time Jay’s voice fell silent and he let out a relieved breath. The young wolf scooted closer and pressed his forehead against his Alpha’s chest. After a couple seconds of getting his breathing back under control he told Zach what happened. 

“We went shopping. I knew I should have waited, but she was really excited and I caved. We were at a dress shop, when I caught the smell….” Jay inhaled deeply, “wolves, not pack.” He could tell his command was weakening as Jay looked up at him and his eyes glowed yellow. The wolf inside his nephew was furious. 

“We snuck out the back...but they found us. I hid her and took her jacket to lead them away. Uncle Z-ach,” the younger man’s voice cracked as he tried to talk, “I went back,” Jay tried to take a breath, Zach’s wolf could smell the sour scents of fear and worry coming off the young man, “and she was gone.” He squeezed Jay’s neck to reassure him and pushed to his feet, his hand never leaving the younger man’s neck as he pulled his nephew with him. 

“Sam take everyone you can and have them spread out!  _ Find her! _ ” He ordered, though from the way his pack emptied the room, it hadn’t been necessary. They would have gone either way, but were just waiting for Jay to finish. 

With everyone gone he let his hand fall away and moved to his desk. He reached across the top, turning his desk lamp on. He wanted to get a better look at Jason, to see if he was unhurt. He had caught the smell of blood on the younger wolf when he was holding him. It was faint but still he needed to make sure. He looked over at his nephew. Jay stood where he had been left, head down and hands clenched into fists at his side. 

Zach cleared his throat, Jay’s head came up and he motioned for him to come to him. When Jay stood before him, Zach checked over his face and arms, before lifting the young man’s shirt to check over his torso and stomach. There were small cuts along his arms that had already healed for the most part. A gash along his ribs that would be better in the morning and a fine scratch on Jay’s cheek that was nothing but a pink line.

Zach let out a relieved breath that Jay was okay. “Any other injuries?” he asked, letting his nephew’s shirt fall. The young man shook his head and then looked toward the door. 

“Can I help look for her?” His nephew looked up at him exhausted but hopeful. 

Zach let out a breath, “No. You will stay here and rest.” A wave of guilt filled the air and Jay’s eyes fell to the floor again.

Zach brushed his hands down his nephew’s arms. “This isn't because you did something wrong... I’m worried about you. I want you safe.” He knew that Jay didn’t believe him, but he would worry about that later. Right now, he needed to go out and try to find his niece.

Hours later, Zach was at the end of his patience. His fear and anger had built so much as they searched that he was already snapping at his packmates and growling at strangers when they got to close. 

He had been hopeful when they had found the dumpster Emily had been hidden behind. Her scent had laid heavy around the metal trash can but a few feet away it just vanished. Making it impossible for him or others to track her. 

They had spread out after that, trying to find her scent again, but as time passed and they found nothing he could feel his pack’s worry. It flooded the back of his mind, the place where the connection he shared with his pack rested. It made it harder to ignore his own fears. Emily was young, just a child, and unfortunately she had presented recently as an Omega. A rarity these days and if any other pack had smelled her and taken her, he didn’t want to think about what could happen to her. All he knew at the moment was that when he found whoever had her, he was going to kill them. 

The sun was coming up and they were still looking. He knew none of his pack would be willing to call it quits, not with a child missing. But he also knew they could only look for so long before they needed to rest. He worked his way back to the dumpster where she had last been, hoping to find something, anything. But like the first time, there was nothing. 

Zach wasn’t sure how long he stood there glaring at the disgusting tub of metal before Matt’s calming scent washed over him, but the sun was higher in the sky then it had been when he turned to look at his second. 

His best friend placed his hand on his shoulder and Zach couldn’t help but take a couple deep breaths, his friend’s scent chasing away some of his anxiety and anger, leaving him feeling exhausted. 

“You need to rest,” Matt said. 

“I need to find Emily,” he replied, glaring a little at his friend. Matt gave him a sad smile. 

“I’ll keep looking, so will some of the others. But we need to be smart about this. If we burn ourselves out looking now we won't be able to keep searching, or gods forbid, fight when we finally find her.” 

He hated to admit it, but Matt was right. He growled low in his chest frustrated before nodding his head in agreement. 

“Fine. But—”

“I’ll let you know the instant we find something,” Matt cut him off, before shoving him towards his truck. He shook his head as he walked away. Only Matt could get away with pushing him around. An ache filled his chest, which he was quick to shove away, now was not the time to think about past mistakes. 

He kept part of his attention on the pack link as he drove home, knowing he would feel it if anything important happened. He was thinking about crashing on the couch instead of heading to bed as he opened his front door. It wasn’t locked; as a pack house, all were welcomed. He heard the phone ringing. 

His blood boiled as he rushed toward the living room; the only people that had this number were pack. And since his pack was out looking for Emily, he knew none were calling. If his niece had been found the pack link would have been the fastest,easiest way to inform him.  Which meant whoever had Emily was calling. He reached down and answered the phone. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Charlie wasn’t sure what time he fell asleep but the smell of bacon woke him up in the morning. He groaned and sat up. He had passed out in his recliner in the front room. He looked around the small living room. The blankets on the couch were all folded and placed neatly on one cushion, the plates from the night before were missing and the room had been tidied up.

Surprised, he stood up and followed his nose into the kitchen and just stopped. 

The counter had plates with toast, pancakes, and bacon. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had a real breakfast. He left his family when he was still in his teens and he never got close to anyone after that. He had made a habit of avoiding settling down, of not getting attached to anyone, and of being able to disappear at the drop of a hat, should he need to. He needed to in order to stay free and out of his father’s hands, or worse another Alpha just like the man. 

The food in front of him made his mouth water and a part of him longed for a time when life was easy. He didn’t want to think about that, not now, instead he leaned against the entry and smiled as he watched the little blonde girl humming under her breath as she cooked eggs. 

He knew the stuff she was cooking had been his fridge. It had only been there because one of his neighbors, an elderly lady a few doors down, insisted he needed to eat more. She kept buying too much when she went to the store, and since she had extra he might as well have it. He knew she did it on purpose, but he never had the heart to call her out on it. She was so nice, so caring and very insistent about it that he just took the food and thanked her for it. He never admitted that he didn’t know how to cook or that the food always ended up donated to the food shelter he passed on his way to work. 

Charlie hadn’t had a chance to take this batch in yet, which seemed lucky as the young girl seemed happy to have taken over his kitchen. Somehow he had missed her waking up and cleaning the room, and he had slept through her starting breakfast. He almost walked in and grabbed one of the pancakes, they smelled so good. But he was afraid to move; she hadn’t noticed him yet and he didn’t want to scare her. So for the moment he settled on watching and waiting. 

She looked older than he originally guessed, closer to the age of 11 or 12, than the 8 or 9 he had thought before. Her blonde hair was brushed and she had changed back into her clothes. He had made sure to wash them before passing out. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was smiling as she moved around the kitchen.

He knew the second she noticed him. She had been moving the pan off one of the burners when she froze, her scent changed to show nervousness and a little fear. Not as much as he expected but there was still some there. She looked up at him wide eyed and with a guilty expression on her face, like a kid that had been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. 

He smiled at her. “You didn’t have to cook,” he said.

She relaxed and smiled back. “I wanted to.”

_ Well at least she’s talking this morning _ , he thought as he sat in one of the cheap stools he owned.

“Do you need help?” he asked, praying she didn’t; he was horrible in the kitchen.

She shook her head, “I’m almost done."

Charlie waited until she turned off the stove and placed food on plates for them. He picked them up and carried them to his living room, setting hers in front of the couch and taking his to the same chair he had slept in. 

They ate in silence.

He didn’t want to push or scare her but he couldn’t just not try to figure out what was going on.

“Can you tell me what happened?” he tried when it seemed she was done eating.

“We were attacked,” she told her plate, not lifting her gaze to him.

“We?” Fear surged through him, had he left someone else hurt in the dark? He hadn’t heard or smelled anyone else, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

“Me and Jay.” She started crying. “It was my fault. I wanted to go shopping for my dance coming up at school, Jay said we should wait until we had someone else to go with us.” She took a deep breath, “but I wouldn’t wait. I didn’t want all the good dresses to be gone. I kept bugging him until he said okay.” She put her fork down and used the bottom of her shirt to wipe away her tears.

“I didn’t know,” she said looking at him, her eyes pleading with him to make it better. “I just presented, I didn’t understand that it would be different now. I didn’t know why he was scared.” Then she was crying again. A part of him was grateful. If this was random then her family, her pack, were safe to call. Well safe for her, not sure it was safe for him.

He rushed to his feet and pulled her into a hug. At least now he had an idea of her age instead of just a guess; most kids present around 11 or 13 years old.

“Was he by the dumpster with you?” He asked, pulling them both onto the couch.

She shook her head and the guilty feeling in his stomach loosened.

“He took my jacket to lead them away.” Her voice sounded so small, and it hurt him that he had no idea how to make it better.

“Okay,” he tilted her chin up so she could face him and meet his eyes. “So he protected you, he probably thought you would run home.” _ He hoped. _ “Is there a number I can call to find out if he is there?”

It seemed he finally gained her trust because she rattled off a phone number and told him to call her Uncle Zach.

“Okay, stay here. I’ll call him.” His stomach was in knots as he stared at his phone.

As he dialed the number he thought he was going to be sick, _ what the hell was he thinking? _ This could be the end of everything for him. All it took was one wrong shifter and he was back at his dad’s feet pleading for his freedom.

The phone rang and he almost hung up, but looking at the little girl on his couch he knew he couldn’t.

“Hello?” It felt like someone had poured fire right into his veins;  _ Fuck  _ he knew an alpha’s voice when he heard it. It took everything he had not to let out a whimper.

“Is this Zach?” He tried to keep his voice even as he asked. Not wanting to give away anything the other wolf could use to identify him. Not his name, but that he was a shifter, or worse an omega.

“If you hurt her I’ll kill you!” The angry tone threw him and he stumbled a step backwards in fear. “What?” he questioned, confused. 

“Emily, my niece. The only reason someone would call this number is if they had her.” The fury in the man’s voice caused Charlie’s knees to give out, he reached out and caught himself on the back of the couch.

“N-no I-- found her,” he stuttered trying to calm his wolf, which was trying to submit to the wolf that wasn’t even in the  _ damn _ room. 

_ This man is powerful, _ he thought, almost in a panic.

“What?” The man asked, some of the anger gone. 

“I found her. She was hiding, I don’t know what happened. But she gave me this number and said to call her uncle. I swear I’d never hurt a kid.” The panic in his voice must have caught the Alpha’s attention because the man made a soothing sound, probably not even aware he was doing it, and It worked. Charlie’s wolf slowly relaxed and so did he.

“Where are you?” the man asked.

“Umm my apartment? There is a diner down on Crest Lane. We can be there in about 15 minutes?” He hated how it all came out as a question; his wolf didn’t like that he tried to tell an Alpha instead of asking. He shook his head, trying to ignore the frustrated wolf inside him. 

“I want to speak with her.” The man sounded just as frustrated as Charlie. He turned to look at the girl, Emily, the Alpha had called her. She was sitting on the couch watching him. She must have been the whole time and he had missed it. Sighing quietly he covered the speaker of the phone. 

“Please don’t tell him about me,” he whispered as low as he could.

She looked confused but nodded.

He took a hopeful breath and handed her the phone.

_ “Uncle!” _ She yelled into the phone and jumped to her feet. “Is Jay okay?” Charlie had to cover his ears from how loud she was. _ Hope my neighbors don’t wake up. _

He left Emily to her phone call. He slowly picked up the plates and headed into the kitchen. As he cleaned up the dishes, Charlie heard her talking and she seemed to be calm and happy. She clearly adored the man. 

He wondered what it would have been like if his father had been the same kind of Alpha, someone he could have called when in trouble or hurt. It was painful to think about. He tried to push it back. It had been a long time since he let himself play the  _ “what if” _ game; he knew it was stupid but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. Shoving thoughts of his past to the back of his mind, where they belonged, he focused on the phone call.

He kept his ears open in case she said anything about him. He knew he was being paranoid but it was habit by now. They seemed to finish at the same time. She came into the kitchen as he dried the last plate and handed him the phone.

“Hello?” he asked, placing the plate in the cabinet.

“I’m afraid I didn’t get your name?” The man seemed happier and it helped Charlie not freak out.

“It’s Charlie,” he replied walking out of the kitchen. Emily was standing by the door clearly excited to go. He held up his hand and went into his room to grab his wallet and keys.

“Thank you, Charlie,” his wolf puffed up. “You didn’t have to help her and you did. I’ll meet you at your diner in half an hour.” The man said, but as a wolf, it rang as a command. Only an Alpha could make him go from proud to annoyed in one sentence. He hung up, knowing it would irk the Alpha that someone disrespected him.  _ Small victories _ .

Before leaving, he made sure to spray a bunch of his scent blocker on. Hopefully he would come across as human and this would be over soon.

As they walked, he looked at the young girl. She was so different than last night; she held herself taller, looked happy and was bouncing around as if nothing bad had ever happened. It made him happy and sad; happy because she bounced back fast but sad because the world would one day destroy her innocence. 

“Emily?” He tried getting her attention as she ran ahead of him.

“Yeah,” she said, coming back and grabbing his hand. It warmed him. Oh how he missed being around other wolves.

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked.

“Sure.” she said looking up at him.

“Can you not tell your uncle or anyone else that I’m a wolf or omega like you?” He really hoped she could.

“Why?” she sighed.

“Remember how you said Jay was worried about taking you out alone and that you were in danger because you’re an omega?” he asked as he pulled them both to a stop.

He looked at her. "It’s dangerous for others to know about me.”

“But uncle Zach wouldn’t hurt you.” He wanted to groan. How could he explain to her that she was safe because she got lucky and had family, an Alpha who cared about her. A pack that would keep her safe. He was more than a little jealous.

“Your uncle will keep you safe, but I’m not family,” he tried.

“But you helped me.” Her eyes looked like she was about to cry, _ shit, _ that was not what he wanted.

He knelt down in front of her, taking both her hands in his. “Hey, I’m not saying your uncle is going to hurt me, I’m just saying that it could be dangerous if others knew. Okay. Please?” he begged.

“Okay.” She didn’t seem happy about it but he felt better that she agreed to stay quiet. He was surprised that before he could stand up she threw her arms around him and hugged him, then just as fast let go. She smiled as she took his hand again and they started walking again. The rest of the short walk was uneventful, aside from the side eyed glances Emily kept sending his way. He knew she was confused and trying to understand. He just gave her a smile every time and she would grin back before looking away. 

When the diner came into view, she tried to run off ahead but he tightened his hold on her hand keeping her at his side. He wasn’t sure if he was doing it because he didn’t want her running in without him, making her pack think he had just let her run off unwatched or protected, or because the small contact of their hands was keeping him from turning tail and running home. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

As they entered the diner Charlie had to steady himself against the door as the smell of all of the wolves hit him. It was beyond strong and the aroma of Alpha that was mixed in caused his whole body to shake. It had been so long since he had been around an Alpha. The wolf in him longed to go up to the man and take in the safe, protected feeling that an Alpha was supposed to provide. Something that he had never truly experienced, less so since his 13th birthday. 

Thankfully his hesitation and deep breathing was missed because the second they were inside Emily let go of his hand and rushed into her uncle’s arms. The pack’s attention focused on her, giving Charlie just enough time to pull himself together and to study the Alpha. 

Zach was easily over 6 foot, short brown hair that was brushed back, and his eyes when they inevitably locked on to Charlie’s were hazel. They reminded him of the wolf’s, the coloring was almost the same, and it caused him to shiver. The man wore jeans and a dress shirt, its sleeves rolled up. If he had been human, Charlie would have wanted him.

But this was a wolf, an Alpha wolf at that, so it could never happen. He forced his body to be still and pushed his wolf as far down as he could. 

He smiled at the small group, trying not to show just how badly he wanted to bolt, and waited for the happy reunion to end.

It didn’t take long for Zach to hand Emily over to a young man, who was holding her so tightly it looked like she would pop. If Charlie was a gambler, he would bet that the young man was Jay. Emily looked happy and she hugged the young man back. 

“Zachary.” Charlie’s head snapped up as the Alpha put his hand out to shake. The man’s whole body screamed power, from the way he held his shoulders to the way he looked over Charlie. 

“Oh, Charlie.” He said taking Zach’s hand, ignoring how it made him feel.

He was hoping that it would be over now. She was safe and all he had to do was walk away. But Zachary led him to a table. For some reason Charlie’s brain shut down, because instead of coming up with an excuse to leave he followed him. It was just the two of them but the tables around them held more of the pack and Emily was running back and forth between tables talking excitedly to people.

“We thought she was gone,” Zach said when he noticed Charlie watching her. 

He felt his wolf long for this, seeing how loved she was, the way they all looked at her and how happy she was. She was safe here. His heart ached and he had to push his wolf down again, there was no need for them to get sucked into a fantasy. 

Charlie tried to figure out how a human would handle this situation, this group of about 8 people all came to pick up this girl. Her uncle stating that they thought she had been gone but no cops.  _ Any human would be suspicious, right? _

“Can I ask where her parents are? And what happened?” He hoped that came off as a worried normal person.

“Her mother is out of town, I’m babysitting.” He watched as the Alpha again looked at his niece. “Jay took her shopping yesterday and lost her in the crowd.” Charlie’s hearing picked up on the irregular heartbeat, catching the lie. “We weren’t sure if she had wandered off or someone took her. Jay called me freaking out and my friends and I have been looking all over town for her.” Zach stopped when a waitress approached their table.

“Hello, what can I get you fellas?” She sounded sweet, but her scent was gross. It took a considerable amount of willpower not to crinkle his nose. 

“I’ll have the special and a large soda,” Zachary ordered, and then both were looking at Charlie.

“Oh, just water, thank you.” 

The waitress went to walk away but the Alpha stopped her. “Hold on.”

Charlie felt like melting into the booth behind him. Zachary was staring at him. 

“You should eat,” the man said with a small frown, Charlie wondered if it was the omega in him that made the Alpha want to feed him, even though he was positive the man couldn’t smell it. Maybe there was still something there that the Alpha could sense.

“I’m not hungry. Emily made breakfast this morning right before we called you.” The man’s stare was causing him to fidget in his seat. The other man didn’t seem to like the idea but seemed to think better about pushing it.

He looked at the waitress. “I guess that will be all, thank you.” The woman huffed and walked away.

Charlie was uncomfortable. The longer he sat here surrounded by this pack the more his wolf pushed at the barrier in his mind. It should have been scared and trying to hide from an unknown Alpha, but instead it seemed eager to show itself, making Charlie even more nervous. His wolf had never tried to fight to show itself before. Not like this, they always were on the same page. Avoid the dangers of others.

He was saved from having to worry about it when his phone started blaring the melody to a popular country song. 

“Shit,” he said as he frantically patted his pockets until he found his phone.

He barely answered before his boss’s voice screeched out of the speakers, “You’re late!” 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Charlie looked up and saw all the shifters in the pack staring at him, he gulped. “My friend needed me to babysit last night, he’s just picking her up, then I’m out the door.” He lied the best he could. 

“You are one of my best employees, Charlie, don’t start slacking off now,” he said, and then the man hung up.

He looked at Zachary and then Emily. “Sorry, I have to go.” He didn’t even wait for them to respond, just pushed his way out of the booth and out of the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

Zach watched as Charlie rushed out of the diner. He was intrigued by the human. He wasn’t sure what he had expected when the man walked in with Emily, but this wasn’t it.

He had been surprised. He would have expected a human to call the police when they found a child hurt and lost, instead it seemed the man took her home and called her family. It was something that should have bothered both Zach and his wolf: a human alone with his niece in his house. But instead he was grateful.

He had wanted to get to know the man. But they had been interrupted by the loud obnoxious man calling and yelling at Charlie, something that caused his wolf to growl. He had barely suppressed the sound. He even felt his pack bristle at the man yelling at the human who had rescued Emily. It seemed the young man would have a few friends after this.

What had truly surprised him was the  _ lie _ . When the younger man told his boss that he had been babysitting, it wasn’t just that this human was lying to protect them; it was that his heartbeat didn’t give it away.

Zach had never heard someone lie so well that he couldn’t tell. Despite the fact he knew it was a lie, there was nothing in the man’s body language or heartbeat that gave it away.

He was still staring at the door when Matthew joined him at his table.

“You like him.” It wasn’t a question; his friend knew him too well for that to be a question. He looked at his second. They had been friends long before Zach built his pack. There had been a time when they were more, but while Matt could and did submit to him as his Alpha, he couldn’t always as a lover. They did okay for a while but with no way to balance out Matt’s need to be in control as well as his want to submit, they ended their relationship. It had hurt them both, greatly. 

Matt had pulled away from their friendship and Zach’s wolf fought against him constantly. It had demanded that Matt was  _ theirs _ and that they should have claimed him instead of letting him go. As the years passed, his wolf settled a bit and they rebuilt their friendship. Most of the tension between them had faded, not entirely but enough for them to talk about the possibility of one of them dating or mating. Still the idea of wanting someone else caused his wolf to whimper. 

“I could like him,” he said, sighing and looking back out the window,  _ If the man hadn’t seemed to be in a hurry to get away from us, _ he thought.

“Do you think he knows?” Matt asked. That caught his attention. Looking back at Matt,  he let his mind work over the possibility that the reason the young man hadn’t called the cops and seemed to be in a hurry to leave was because he knew what they were.

“That would make sense.” He let his eyes wander to Emily. She was sitting on Ty’s lap, talking to Jay. She seemed happy and he knew he would have to talk to her about everything that happened. But he wanted to wait until they were home and he could do it in private. While he hadn’t gotten a bad vibe off the human, he still had to make sure.

“So, a human in the know or something supernatural that we just can’t smell?” Matt asked.

Zach sighed and looked back at his friend. The man should have been a feline shifter instead of a wolf. His curiosity was always annoying and when they were young, it had landed them in more than enough trouble.

“Does it matter?” he replied as the waitress approached. He waited until his plate was placed in front of him and she was walking away to continue. “He helped her.”

He didn’t like using his rank against his old friend but he was hoping the dismissal of the topic would be enough to get Matt to leave the man alone.

Matt’s blue eyes glared at him. “It could matter Zach. We couldn’t smell him. And whatever hides his scent hid hers as well. As of right now he is a friend but what if some day that changes?” Zach growled at the other wolf.

He knew it was Matt’s job to think about any possible threats, but something about the idea of Charlie becoming a threat didn’t sit well with him. The man had done nothing to deserve suspicion. He looked at his pack. Most were lost in their own conversations or at least pretending they couldn’t hear them. He sighed. 

This was his to protect.

“Fine, we keep an eye on him.” Matt nodded.

“But Matthew,” his tone deepened, “he is a friend until he’s not. Remember that.” His second lowered his head and showed his neck, a sign that he was submitting to his Alpha. It made Zach want to cuff his friend on the back of the head. But he understood the reason; it was more of a show to the pack, so they wouldn’t do anything stupid later.

He waved his friend off, and the man quickly left the diner, probably to follow Charlie.

With his second off chasing down Charlie, Zach decided it was time to take Emily home and have a private conversation with her. 

He was glad that with whatever had happened the night before she seemed okay. She was running around the diner, talking animatedly and picking on the pack members that followed him here. She seemed to be alright and that was probably the only thing keeping his wolf from freaking out.

“Ems time to go,” he said and his niece looked up. She seemed ready to argue, but she took in his stance and yielded. She quickly said her goodbyes and joined him at the door. 

The drive back to his house was enlightening.

Emily jumped into the passenger seat of his truck and started fiddling with his radio.

“I like Charlie,” she said once he had the car started and moving. He looked over at her and raised his eyebrow, encouraging her to tell him why.

She rolled her eyes. “He was super nice and stayed up all night even though he was tired. He…” She paused, as if trying to find the right words, “He made me feel safe, like the pack would, and he found me dry clothes and made me a sandwich.” She glanced over at him. “He even made sure my clothes were clean, so I could be comfortable in my own stuff.” Then she smiled, “And you should have seen his face when I made breakfast!” She started laughing, “It was like he had never seen food before.” She turned in her seat, looking at him.

He gave a disapproving frown and she rearranged herself, so she was sitting correctly.

“I think he’s lonely.” Her smile disappeared, “There weren’t any other scents in his  home, and he seemed really surprised when I made food for him.”

Zach looked over at her, it would be hard to explain to her that humans weren’t like them. Among pack it was normal to cook for others, to care for them, to invade their space and share scents. 

Her cooking for the human was her way of saying thank you. It was important to wolves. To her _,_ seeing Charlie alone and uncared for was not just sad, it was confusing. As a wolf and an omega, she wanted to see him cared for. She didn’t understand why there weren’t others around to care for him.

“Sweetheart, he’s human. Some of them don’t like others in their homes, and maybe he was just surprised that the young girl he found and took home could cook.” He tried making it sound like a joke. He wanted her happy mood back. He hadn’t liked seeing her upset.

She let out a huff, “He’s not…” then slammed her mouth shut.

“He’s not what?” Zach asked.

She hesitated. “He wasn’t surprised I could cook,” She gave a small smile, “It was the food. He ate it so fast and then looked happy.” Then she was back to playing with his radio.

He knew that wasn’t what she was going to say, but he didn’t feel like pressuring her for more information. It seemed she had taken a liking to the younger man and forcing her to tell his secrets would only make his niece angry at him. So, for now he would let it go.

As he pulled in front of his house, he sighed. Now for the tough questions.

“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked, getting out of the truck. She was walking beside him watching her feet as she walked.

“I didn’t realize. I know mom sent me here because she was worried about what grandpa would do when he found out I presented. But I didn’t get it. I’m sorry, I thought she just didn’t want me at home because I got in trouble at school.” She had tears in her eyes, as they both sat on the porch steps.

“Jay told me we should wait, that it wasn’t safe. I didn’t believe him. Not until the other wolves started following us.” She moved closer to lean into him. He felt anger at his sister for not talking more about omegas to her own daughter. No wonder she had been so moody since she got here. The kid thought she was in trouble; she didn’t understand that she was here for her protection.

“Most of them chased after Jay when he took my jacket but one found me.” He wrapped his arms tighter around her, reminding her he was there and that she was safe. 

“He kept talking about how his alpha would be pleased that I was an omega, and how it would be great for him and their pack.”

She took a breath, “When he tried grabbing me, I kicked him hard.” She gave a little blush and Zach knew where she had kicked the rogue wolf. “He made a sound and some people heard him, so they all came running over to see if he was okay. I took off and hid. Charlie found me after that.”

“I’m glad he did.” Zach hugged her. He was relieved that nothing horrible had happened, and that she had gotten away.

“Let’s go inside, I have some things to do.” He watched as she jumped away from him and bounced into the house. He chuckled. Kids, they can go from sad to happy so fast. By the time he followed her into the living room, she already had the TV on and had forgotten he existed.

He shook his head and headed into his office. He needed to think about what to do about her, and then he needed a way to stop the rogue wolves.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Charlie huffed as he walked out of the building he worked in and noticed it was pouring rain out. As a wolf, he shouldn’t have to worry about getting sick, and normally it wouldn’t be a problem. But he hadn’t been eating as much as he should have, nor did he have a pack connection to help his body heal if it was needed. So, seeing the rain added to his already foul mood. He had pulled double shifts three times in the last week, trying to earn as much extra money as possible in case he had to leave without much of a warning.

He wasn’t sure it was necessary; Emily’s pack hadn’t made any move to show their interest in him and he hadn’t seen any wolves hanging around. So, he was pretty sure they bought his human act, but he had survived this long by being paranoid and he wasn’t going to stop now.

He pulled his jacket closed and wrapped his arms close to his chest, hoping to protect himself as much as he could from both the rain and the cold. Then he stepped out from the protection of the building and into the ice-cold rain.

Normally, he would walk at a decent pace and let himself unwind after work. The walking was good for his wolf, not as good as shifting and running, but enough to keep his wolf from forcefully taking over and exposing them. But tonight, he quickened his pace and tried to get to the small bus stop as fast as he could.

He was about a block away from his work when the first sensation of being watched hit him. He stopped walking and looked around. He ignored passing cars and tried to see if anyone was close enough to upset his wolf or if anyone was looking in his direction. But he didn’t see anyone, so he started walking again.

As he walked the feeling grew stronger, causing him to keep looking over his shoulder, but no matter how many times he looked he never saw anyone. The paranoid feeling was causing his wolf to pace in the back of his mind and he could feel an itch across his skin as his wolf tried to get him to shift to their safer form.

Swallowing a growl at the growing frustration, he tried to hurry to the bus stop. Maybe it was the focus he had on looking behind him or the heavy rain that caused him to miss the sound of someone moving in a hidden alley, but just as he was walking past a hand reached out and took a hold of his arm and dragged him into the darkened area.

He yelped at the feel of the pull and tried to rip his arm free, but whoever was holding him matched him in strength and kept pulling. Once they were both in the alley the person let go and shoved him against a hard brick wall.

“What the...” he shouted, only to have the person in front of him slam their fist into his stomach. He doubled over from the pain and tried to suck in air. But the first punch was followed by a second to the side of his head.

The second punch caused his head to rock to the side and sent a wave of pain through his skull. He tried to bring up his arm to block any more hits to his head but his arm was grabbed by the wrist and pulled back.

The way his arm was pulled caused him to stumble back, and he again tried to free his arm by pulling it, but the person didn’t let go. So he took his other arm and started trying to pull the hand away from him. But just has his hand met the skin of the man’s arm, another hand grabbed his free arm and wrenched it back. And then both of his arms were pulled up at painful angles and slammed into the wall behind him.

He looked around and noticed that he was surrounded by four men. Two were holding his arms against the wall while the other two stood in front of him.

“What the….” he tried again to shout out but again he was punched in the stomach. Only the way his arms were held against the wall kept him from covering his stomach as the pain rushed through him.

He raised his head and glared at the man in front of him. This man had short blonde hair and from the way the tall red headed man next to him watched him, it appeared the blond was their leader. 

The blond man smiled and moved closer. As the man moved in, the smell of wolf filled Charlie’s nose and panic flared inside him. No wonder they were so strong. The four strangers were wolves and they didn’t carry the same scent as Emily, which left him with a feeling of dread. Because that means these were outsiders, and that meant he was in for a world of hurt, or worse if they figured out what he was.

The leader reached out and grabbed his hair, jerking his head back, exposing his neck. To a wolf, it was a bad position to be in. The neck was a vulnerable spot. Showing your neck was an act of submission, normally one given to one’s pack or someone they trusted. To show an enemy your neck was to say you were surrendering to them, submitting to their power or claim. Or it meant a wolf was going in for the kill. 

The wolf in Charlie rebelled at the position but he pushed it down. Because despite what this meant to the wolves, to a human it was just one man trying to get his attention and maybe prove he was in control.

“You interfered the other night in something and it cost me,” the man growled, and he forced Charlie’s head back farther. The sting of it caused Charlie’s eyes to tear, and he bit his lip to stop the growl that was already in his throat.

“What?” he asked playing dumb. It seemed to make the blond angrier, because his question was answered with another punch. This one hit him in the right side of the face and caused his head to slam back against the wall.

His vision blurred and he had to force himself to keep his eyes open and his legs under him.

“ _ The girl! _ ” the man shouted in his face. The leader again took a hold of his hair and Charlie let out a pained cry from the pain in his head.

“I promised to bring her to someone and that was before I got a whiff of her.” The man snarled and shoved Charlie’s head away. He tried to keep himself upright, but the hits to the head were causing him to get dizzy and a nauseous feeling was already starting to grow in his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped out. He saw the man’s hand flying for his face and tried to pull it out of the way, which caused the smack that had been headed for his face to graze his nose. Even though he didn’t get the brunt of it, it was still strong enough to make him yelp.

“You’re sorry?” The man’s voice got quieter, or maybe Charlie was just having a harder time hearing it over the blood pounding in his ears.

“You’re sorry,” the man repeated, and this time he took Charlie by the chin and forced his face up until their eyes met.

Another show of dominance from the other wolf, and this time Charlie felt his wolf lower its ears and growl softly. It was cornered and afraid but it wasn’t backing down.

“You see, I don’t care if your sorry. You prevented me from pleasing my Alpha.” Charlie’s stomach dropped with the word Alpha. Wolves don’t expose themselves to humans. “And he was very angry when I told him some pathetic _ human _ got to her before we did.” The man growled and his hand tightened on Charlie's chin. Charlie could already feel it starting to bruise. 

“But it’s okay,” the blonde man smiled. “See one of my guys recognized you from down at one of the warehouses. And we were able to follow you.” The man gave Charlie’s head a shake and his vision exploded with black dots as his head was jostled from side to side.

“Unfortunately, you got her back to her pack before we could get her from you.” Charlie barely heard the man’s words. They seemed far away, and he tried to focus on them but there was this heavy foggy feeling in his head and it made it hard. As the blackness around his sight grew, Charlie was aware that the man was still talking, but the words didn’t register. He had just felt himself start to be swallowed by the dark when another bile-raising punch to the stomach brought the world back into focus.

“Are you listening to me?” The man shouted. Charlie had a small thought that the man had serious anger issues before another fist to the face caused him to fall sideways. 

To his surprise the two men holding him let go and he crumbled to the ground. He groaned and tried to catch himself, but his legs had turned to jelly and his hands were barely fast enough to stop his face from slamming into the wet concrete.

His arms only held him for a second before a swift kick to the ribs caused him to fall onto his side.

“Fucking human,” one of the other wolves growled as he was kicked again. He lost count of the number of kicks as the three other wolves took turns. Their leader stood back watching, or at least that’s what it looked like though Charlie’s blurry eyes. 

It felt like forever before they stopped and the blond took him by his hair and pulled him up off the ground. His legs wouldn’t hold him; they gave out and he felt hair rip from his scalp as the man’s hand was the only thing keeping him off the ground.

The man was smiling. “You lead us right to them. They went to meet you and we were able to follow them right to their precious pack house. And tonight, while they all go and take their run we are going to attack the house.” Charlie cringed and tried to call out but his voice was stuck in his throat.

“We will of course have to kill anyone left behind to guard it, but we will get the girl and maybe a few others depending on who they leave behind.” The man again shook Charlie by his hair. This time when the wave of pain and dizziness washed over him, Charlie had no hope of stopping himself from vomiting all over the man in front of him.

The blonde was quick to throw him to the ground as he shouted out and tried to dodge the mess headed for him. He didn’t see if any of it hit the man, but judging from the few laughs and the man’s cursing he was pretty sure he had.

A part of him was a little satisfied, as he had gotten a little revenge against the bastard. 

His satisfaction was short lived as a foot slammed into his face. It was the last thing he saw or felt before his mind and body gave out and he fell unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

It was the soft  _ dro _ _ p, drop, drop _ of the rain on his cheek that woke him. Then it was the flash of pain down his back when he tried to move. He was confused at first; where was he and why he was in so much pain? But when he put his hand out and tried to push off the freezing cold wet ground, he remembered the alley and the wolves jumping him.

He groaned and opened his eyes. His left eye opened easily, but his right seemed to have forgotten how to work. He was light headed and weak, but there was a feeling of urgency that pushed him to pull his wolf forward and let it give him some strength. It wasn’t much, probably due to the fact he was already starting to heal from some of the damage done to his chest and ribs.

He used his hands to drag himself along the ground, distantly aware of them getting number as he moved. He pulled himself along until he felt the wall, then he used it to push him into a seated position. He cried out as he sat up, then he started coughing, which turned into gasping as he fought to breathe. 

The taste of copper and blood filled his mouth and he had to spit it out. He sucked in a painful breath and flinched as he ran one of his hands down his chest to his ribs checking the damage. It was worse than he had thought. He brushed his hand over something sticking out of his skin and then he flinched again when one became two. 

He sunk his teeth into his lip to stop himself from crying out again. Taking in another difficult breath, he wondered about his lungs.  _ Weren’t they close enough to his ribs to be messed up as well?  _ He took his hand away from the broken ribs, praying that his wolf had enough strength to heal everything that was damaged. 

He had just rested his pounding head against the wall and closed his eye, when he remembered what had been so important.

_ “The pack!” _ his mind shouted.

He jerked and opened his eye again. He ignored the pain that coursed through him as he searched his pockets for his phone. Once his fingers hit plastic he let out a silent prayer to whatever gods there were to let it work and that he still had the Alpha’s phone number.

The screen was cracked all to hell, but when he hit the button on the side it lit up. His hands were so numb that holding on to the phone was difficult and trying to get his fingers to scroll through his recent calls was frustrating. They just didn’t want to cooperate and it took multiple tries to get the names to scroll across the screen.

Then he finally found the number and pressed down, the screen giving an unhappy creak, and he prayed his phone held together long enough to make the call.

Once the call connected and he heard it start to ring, he again let himself fall back and rest against the wall, his sore body and exhaustion making it hard to remain upright on his own.

“Hello?” The Alpha’s voice rang through his ears and he winced and moved the phone away from his ear.

“Zach?” He asked, setting his body off into another coughing fit.

“Charlie?” The other wolf sounded concerned. 

He tried to answer but the coughing was making it hard to breathe and even harder to talk.

“Charlie? Where are you? Tell me, what happened!” The man demanded. The tone caused Charlie to shiver from the power behind it; even if the Alpha didn’t realize what he had done, it was enough for Charlie’s wolf to take control and stop the coughing.

“Trouble,” Charlie choked out, “Men….” He hissed in pain. “Your house. Tonight.” His vision started to darken again, his body giving in to his injuries. “Emily,” he forced out. 

As his phone slipped out from his useless fingers he could hear Zach shouting. Somewhere in his fading consciousness he prayed the man understood and that he was ordering his pack to get ready for a fight.

For the second time that night, the rain brought him back to the land of consciousness. 

However, this time there was a sound. Something just off in the distance, but still close enough for his ears to pick up. He opened one good eye, trying to find the source of the sound but his vision was blurry and he couldn’t make out much but the dark fuzzy alley around him. Then he heard a man’s voice and he tried to cry out to get attention but all his body did was shake. The amount of energy used to try to heal by itself, and the amount of damage caused by the beating had left him weak. The freezing cold rain water seeping into his clothes and body, leaving him shivering uncontrollably, didn’t help either. He didn’t even have the strength to kick out his legs or bang his hands on the ground. He wanted to scream at the anger, the pain, and the frustration of this whole situation. Mostly he just wanted to make enough noise to be heard.

“Charlie!” someone shouted nearby.

He gasped, grateful that someone was looking for him. He heard his name a few more times before he finally had enough strength to let out a cry. It wasn’t too loud but judging from the pounding of feet and shouts headed his way, someone had heard him and they were coming to help.

There was a moment of overwhelming relief that washed over him. He was going to be okay.

That feeling lasted until the smell of wolf hit him. He jerked to the side and focused his eye on the people coming at him. He heard one of them gasp when they finally saw him.

A face he didn’t recognize reached for him and the wall that kept his wolf safely hidden away shattered. He closed his eyes and tried frantically to pull his wolf back, but it was stronger than him, and just as he felt the man’s hand was about to touch his face, his wolf surged forward and opened his eyes.

The men gasped and as one took a step back.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, half buried under the control of his wolf, Charlie knew his eyes were all wolf and that his secret was out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Matt’s day had been long. His morning had started with him fighting with his mother over the phone. She was starting to pressure him more and more about taking a mate. She wanted grandchildren, she said, over and over again. She even told him that she didn’t care if he chose a human. She just wanted to see him happily mated with little pups running around. He had almost called her on her bullshit. If she wanted him to be happy she would stop with lectures about finding a good woman. He had told her years ago, when he was about 18, that he favored men. 

She had just brushed it off, saying that he was being silly and that he wouldn’t feel that way once he met the right woman. It had pissed him off and when he tried to defend himself, she had shut him out, not listening to a word he said until he stopped trying to explain it. 

He also wanted to tell her that he had found love once. Years ago, but his dominance had ruined it. He had never hated his wolf, not in his whole life, but there were a couple months after Zach had ended it where he had come close. He didn’t understand why he found the perfect person for him yet they couldn’t be together. They were both too dominant and it caused problems. He had tried to resist it, lie about it, even ignore his wolf, but Zach as always saw through the act. 

His lover and best friend had ended their relationship, telling Matt that he wouldn’t, couldn’t, watch him fight against his wolf, just so they could be together. They had fought, mostly because Matt kept reminding him that their wolves saw each other as mates, that they belonged together. But Zach, clinging to some small bout of logic, told him if that had been true they wouldn’t want to fight and claim dominance over each other like they did. 

Years later, his wolf still wanted their Alpha, but nothing had changed. He knew a relationship between the two of them wouldn’t work. 

None of this made listening to and dealing with his mother any easier. No longer a teenager, one would think his mother would back off a little, or listen to his denials about wanting a mate, let alone a female one, but no. Instead she became more insistent, even giving his number out to women she thought he might like, which led to many awkward phone calls. 

The first time it had happened, him and Zach had found it mildly amusing. They had been dating at the time, and his asshole of a best friend had sat there on the bed next to him listening while he tried to tell some woman on the phone that no he didn’t want to meet her for coffee, no he wasn’t just shy like his mother preached, and yes he was sure. After he finally got her off the phone they shared a good laugh. The next couple of times were less funny and after they had broken up he had taken a more aggressive tone with the women who called. 

It wasn’t just the annoyance of it all, it was the pain from the reminder that he was alone. That he did want to be loved and held, and that he did want a mate. But while he had come to terms with his and Zach’s situation, his heart wasn’t ready to try and replace his friend. 

This morning he had snapped at his mother, telling her to back off. He told her that if and when he found a mate it would be his decision, not hers. She had tried to guilt him about grandchildren and how he was almost 30, which was stupid because wolves have long lives, unless they are killed, and 30 was still young. The call had ended with her telling him he didn’t care about her and her hanging up on him. 

Normally he would have called Zach to complain and talk out his frustration. But he held off. Years ago he would have made the call the moment she hung up, because even when their friendship was strained, he knew he could still call and talk, and that Zach would listen, but lately something seemed off. Matt couldn’t pinpoint what it was but the rift that they had worked so hard to fix seemed to have returned and he felt like their friendship was hanging by a thread. 

He feared that the tiniest thing would snap it and he would lose not only Zach but the pack. If they couldn’t live together, work together, function as an Alpha and his second, then Matt was useless to the pack and would have to leave. So for the time being he held his tongue.

“You okay?” Ben asked from the passenger seat, startling him. He had forgotten the other wolf was even there.

“Huh?” he asked looking at the younger wolf. Ben’s brown eyes searched his, as if he could find the answer just by staring. 

“You have been glaring at the road, and if you hold on to that steering wheel any tighter you’re going to break it,” Ben said, pointing at Matt’s hands. To his surprise, when he looked down his knuckles were white from the force he was holding onto the steering wheel. 

He loosened his grip. “I’m good, just one of those days.”

Ben nodded like he understood, but Brandon in the back seat snorted, causing Matt to glare at him through the rearview mirror. The man winced under the glare and looked down. Matt allowed the small show of submission, looking away from the mirror and back at the road.

The car fell into an uncomfortable silence that Matt knew was his fault. He was agitated and his wolf was pushing to show itself. He knew the other two could feel it and were trying to not draw more attention to themselves.

He huffed and rolled down his window. The rain had thankfully slowed down enough that he wasn’t worried about his seat getting wet. Letting in the fresh air would clear out his smell from the car, which would help the other two to relax.

They were about five minutes away from the pack house when Ben’s phone rang. The younger wolf was quick to grab it and answer.

“Alpha,” Ben said, respectfully.

Matt tensed. He couldn’t think of any reason why Zach would be calling them, and it caused both him and his wolf to worry. He strained his ears to pick up both ends of the conversation. Not that it was needed.

“Ben, put your phone on speaker, I need to speak with Matthew.” His stomach rolled at the way his Alpha said his name. Zach only ever called him Matthew when something was wrong.

Ben did as he was told and then he placed his phone in his hand and put it close to Matt, who was reminding himself to pay attention to the road.

“Matt, I need you to track down Charlie.” He hadn’t noticed before but Zach was angry and worried. Matt could hear it in his tone, but also through the way their pack bond hummed in his mind.

“What happened?” Matt asked as he switched lanes and headed for the shoulder to pull over the car.

He heard his Alpha growl, and was grateful he had pulled over because it sent a spark through him and he had to fight to keep from shifting. He saw Ben tense next to him and heard Brandon whimper in the back seat and knew that the other two felt it as well.

“I’m not sure. He just called me. He was hurt and could hardly speak. But from what I was able to make out, the rogues attacked him. Probably trying to learn about Emily. He said the house was in danger and then I heard his phone clank on the ground.” There was another growl. “I tried shouting at him, but I couldn’t get another response.”

“You want us to find him?” Ben asked.

“Yes. You should be able to track his phone.” Zach sounded worried but also like he was trying to hide it. Matt’s wolf growled.

“You said, he said the house was going to be attacked?” He huffed and started his car again.

“I called the pack they are headed here.”

“We are on our way.” Matt said and he pulled his car off the shoulder.

“Matthew.” His whole body went tense as his Alpha’s voice wrapped around him. He knew what was about to happen, he could feel his wolf ready to obey and he was pissed.

“Zach, dont—” he pleaded, but his Alpha’s mind was set.

“ _ Go find Charlie _ .” The order washed over him, and he knew no matter how desperately he wanted to go fight with his pack, he would obey his Alpha and go look for the human.

He growled and threw the phone at the dashboard. 

He turned his car around and headed back towards the town, as Ben called a pack member that works for the local cops. He drove slowly into town waiting for the right information on where to head.

He didn’t even listen in on the conversation as Ben talked. He was still too angry that his Alpha had ordered him away for the fight.

“He has a trace,” Ben finally said and read off an address not too far away from where they were.

Matt just nodded and headed towards it. As he drove the rain started to pick up again and he had to roll his window up. When he pulled in front of a large empty building he looked over at Ben and raised his brow.  _ This is where Charlie’s phone was? _

“This is the right address,” Ben said as he started getting out of the car, followed by Brandon. Matt slammed his hand against the steering wheel and followed the others.

As he looked around he tried to use his nose to find a scent, but the rain and the fact that he didn’t even know what Charlie’s true scent was caused problems. He sighed and shouted out the man’s name.

He was walking towards the entrance of the building, when a fearful shout of Charlie’s name left Brandon’s mouth. He raced to his pack mate. When he was close enough he caught the heavy scent of blood and wolves.

All three of them rushed towards the alley. As they entered he heard the pained groan and followed it.

He was surprised when he saw Charlie; the man was in bad shape. Half his face was hidden behind a number of bruises, and there was blood covering his shirt and jacket. 

The man in front of him was barely conscious and was breathing in short gasps.

Matt saw Ben reach down to check on him.

Just as Ben was about to touch the man, Matt heard a low growl. At first, he couldn’t place who had done it, but then Charlie’s eyes opened and glowed with the yellow hue that belonged to a wolf.

Matt grabbed Ben and took a step back, Brandon subconsciously moving with them. 

Charlie let out another growl, and tried to back away from them, only to be trapped because of his injuries and the wall.

_ Shit, _ Matt thought,  _ this just got a hell of a lot more complicated. _

A hurt wolf wouldn’t react well to unknown wolves surrounding it, especially after being attacked.

“Charlie,” he whispered, “do you remember me?” He pushed Ben and Brandon away. They hadn’t been at the diner the day Charlie returned Emily. Their presence would only agitate the wolf more.

He didn’t get a response other than another low growl.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Charlie wasn’t there, not really. The wolf part of him was in control. Matt looked the man over again and noticed that his shirt had ridden up on his chest, and just visible were two ribs sticking out. Matt could also make out blood running down the man’s neck, probably from his head. He understood then that the wolf was in control because Charlie was too weak. Judging from the injuries, the wolves that had done this had left him for dead, thinking like them that Charlie was human.

So, he had to forget about talking to Charlie and trying to calm  _ the man  _ down. He was going to have to get the wolf to submit.

It wasn’t an ideal choice; a wolf would fight submitting to an unknown wolf. It didn’t matter how hurt it was, submitting gave another wolf control, and that went against their nature. Wolves only submitted to their Alphas or packmates.

“Try not to hurt him,” Ben whispered from behind him. Matt felt himself look over his shoulder and gave the younger wolf a ‘ _ no shit,’ _ look.

Ben huffed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean he is in really bad shape and I’m not sure he can take anymore.” Matt nodded.

He heard both Ben and Brandon back away from him, giving him space that hopefully he wouldn’t need. He was hoping that Charlie would be too weak to put up much of a fight and he would get the wolf to submit quickly. With them far enough away, he let his own eyes change.

The reaction was instant. Charlie growled and tried to push to his feet. There was a yelp as the man stumbled and Matt moved in trying to catch him. 

He wrapped an arm around Charlie’s chest. The injured wolf tried to slash at him with claws that had only just come out. The slash was weak but well aimed, and Matt had to let go to dodge a couple claws to his face. The release of his hold caused Charlie to fall back to the ground. Matt heard the other man whine from the impact and winced. He hoped that would be the end of the fight. But as he moved closer there was a growl and Charlie turned and lunged at him.

He was fast to back step, causing Charlie to fall short of his attack, and again he fell to the ground. This time the impact caused the wolf to yelp. Matt felt sympathy for the other wolf. He knew Charlie was scared and hurt, and he also knew that all the other man’s wolf knew was that he had been attacked by wolves, and now there were others here trying to touch him. It didn’t understand that Matt was trying to help him. So it fought.

This time he moved slower, keeping his steps silent. He could hear Charlie still growling but they were quieter, more reserved growls. The sound of a wolf that knew it was going to lose. He wanted to reach out and comfort the hurt man, but he knew now wasn’t the time. He also knew that Charlie wasn’t done yet; the wolf was just waiting for its best chance.

So, Matt gave it to him. 

He waited until he stood just off to Charlie's left side – the same side where he had seen the broken ribs earlier. It was the weaker side and would be harder for Charlie to swing around or to use that arm to attack.

When he felt he was in the right spot, he let his foot fall heavy. As predicted, Charlie tried to lunge off the ground to take a swipe at him, but the sudden pulling on that side of the body proved too much. Charlie cried out and ended up stumbling forward. Matt rushed to catch him when their bodies collided. He raised his hand regretfully with his own claws out, to take hold of the back of Charlie's neck. He let his claws dig into the soft flesh of the neck and gave a squeeze. Charlie reacted by whimpering and trying to pull free. Matt squeezed harder and with a low whine Charlie’s body went lax.

He let out a relieved breath when he felt Charlie finally submit. Matt used one arm to keep Charlie pulled close, then reached down with his other and used it to pick Charlie up at the knees. Once he got a good hold he turned around and carried Charlie past Brandon to their car. Ben was already waiting in the back seat with the heat on.

They carefully got Charlie into the car, only causing him to whimper once. Matt ended up with Charlie mostly in his lap. He had the younger man’s head resting on his shoulder, his body loosely resting against him. His legs were spread, one laying across the back seat and the other hanging off with Ben sitting in between them trying to get a look at Charlie’s injuries.

“You may have to hold him down,” Ben said as he ran his fingers down Charlie’s ribs. He hesitated over the two broken ones and met Matt’s eyes. Matt felt himself wrap his arms around Charlie, easily pinning the wolf against him. He nodded to Ben and watched as the other man pushed the two offending ribs back into Charlie’s body.

Charlie screamed out in pain and tried to pull himself free. But between Matt’s arms and Ben’s hands, he didn’t get far.

“Shhhh,” he whispered in Charlie’s ear, “It’s okay, he is just trying to help.” His words had little effect, but exhaustion and pain caused Charlie to stop fighting. After a couple minutes, and a few more weak struggles against Matt, Charlie passed out.

Then Ben was back to work. He carefully wrapped a bandage from a first aid kit they kept in the car around Charlie’s ribs. 

Matt watched as Ben got lost in checking over the wolf, softly touching here and there trying to feel the extent of the damage.

Once Ben was finished with the body, they pushed Charlie into a seated position, causing the man to growl at them. It wasn’t very threatening given he didn’t even open his eyes to do it. Then Ben looked over Charlie’s head. Matt could see some caked-on blood but most of it looked dry. He watched Ben run his fingers along Charlie’s scalp, and after a couple minutes he sighed and helped Matt lay him back down.

Ben looked at him with a frown.

“What is it?” he whispered, not wanting to wake up the hurt wolf.

“They did a number on him; his head is healing but you can feel where it had cracked open. Then there is the damage to his face, his right eye is swollen and I can’t get a very good look at it. So, I don’t know how messed up it is. I think they broke his cheek bone though. His chest has me really worried and the amount of bruising isn’t good. Besides his two ribs, I think he might have a couple more cracked and some internal bleeding. If he were human, I think he would be dead,” Ben sighed.

“Matt, he’s not healing right,” Ben said. “I mean this much damage would put any wolf down but he should already be healing, especially his head and chest. I shouldn’t be able to find the crack in his skull or ribs.” Matt had wondered about that too.

Brandon cleared his throat from the front seat, causing both of them to look at him. The other wolf met Matt’s eyes in the mirror. “It makes sense if he is denying his wolf,” Brandon said. Matt felt a growl vibrate through his chest. “I mean you said that when you guys met him you thought he was human. Right? So, if you couldn’t tell he was a wolf maybe it was because he is either hiding it or trying to shove it down and deny it.” Brandon looked away from them.

Matt tightened his hold on the man in his arms and tried not to let his growling wake the man.

“Do you think that’s the problem?” he asked Ben. 

His pack mate was quiet for a moment. Then he seemed to make a decision. “It could be. If he isn’t eating right or letting his wolf out then it would weaken it. Not to mention the energy it takes to fight to always remain in control. So, they would both be weak. That could slow down his healing.” There was a fire in Ben’s eyes as he spoke. It was an anger that Matt understood.

Denying one’s wolf was horrible. Their wolves were a part of them, denying one was like denying a part of yourself. Matt had never met someone who had denied their wolf before. The connection was just too strong. He looked down at the man in his arms and wondered what would push someone to hurt themselves in that way.

“Do you think he has a pack?” Brandon asked from the front seat.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Zach’s skin felt like it was going to rip away from his body as he paced the small open space in his office. His wolf was moving, clawing and scratching at the place in his head where it was kept, demanding to be let free. It knew that a threat was heading for them and for their pack. It wanted to be free to rip them apart and protect what was his, _ theirs _ . But Zach knew that the time to let his wolf free wasn’t here, not yet. He clenched his hands into fists and forced his wolf down. It went unhappily.

He heard something crack and he looked down at his hand. He had forgotten he was holding his phone, and when he tightened his grip the phone started to creak. Not wanting to damage it more than he already had he took a deep breath in through his nose and then let it out. Feeling more in control, he put the phone on his desk and walked out of his office. 

In his living room he found his pack. He growled again, not at his pack but at the situation, because right now the room should have been empty, except for the kids who were too young to run with the pack, and the small few that stayed behind to keep an eye on them. Instead almost all of his packmates were slowly filling the room, their nerves and anger clouding the air.

He spotted Jay sitting in an armchair with Emily on his lap. His niece had tears in her eyes and was holding tightly to Jay’s shirt. His nephew was leaning close whispering something in her ear. She gave a small smile at whatever he whispered but her frown soon returned. Zach wanted to walk over and comfort them but he didn’t have time. He would just have to hope they could look after each other.

Looking away from the two young ones, he looked back at his pack. They stood in small groups all whispering, trying to figure out why they were here. He hadn’t had time on the phone to tell them everything, and instead he just said it was an emergency and that everyone was needed here. The tension in the room said that they all knew whatever it was had to be dangerous. 

He cleared his throat and the talking in the room stopped, all eyes on him.

“The rogues are coming here tonight. They had planned on attacking while the house was unguarded,” he heard several gasps and growls from the others, “and the pack was too far away to help those left behind. Unfortunately for them, I got a warning and now we can protect our home. I don’t know how many of them are coming but, judging by the fact they aren’t expecting much of a fight, I don’t think it will be many.” He let his wolf rise enough to cause his scent to thicken and his eyes glow. He saw several of this pack do the same, each wolf ready to fight.

“Corey,” he said, picking one of the younger wolves. The man had shown he could hold his own in a fight but he was still just a kid and Zach wanted him out of danger. “You and Jay will take the kids down to the basement and keep them hidden and safe.” He heard Jay protest and he turned to glare at his nephew. The kid shut his mouth and pulled Emily closer before dropping his head.

“Miranda, I need you and John to stay in the house, in case a wolf gets past us.” The only mated couple in his pack were older, even for wolves who tend to live three or four times longer than humans. He saw Miranda nod before he turned back to the rest of his pack.

“Wyatt and Ty, you are with me. We will be waiting for them outside. Doubtful they’ll want to talk but I’ll try anyway.” Both wolves nodded. “The rest of you, I want hidden just inside the forest. Let’s keep your presence a secret until the last moment.”

“Alpha?” Ty’s voice was quiet but carried across the room. “Where’s Matt?” Zach felt a ball of guilt land in his stomach; he had ordered Matt away from the pack when it was in danger. He knew his oldest friend would not forgive him for that. It was something he had never planned on doing but his fear that Charlie was out there dying all because he rescued Emily hadn’t left him any other option. He knew when this fight was over and Matt was home there was going to be another one. He just hoped his second did it behind closed doors so the pack didn’t think Matt was challenging him.

“He is out trying to help a friend.” He saw confused looks pass between some members of the pack but none of them questioned it.

The next several minutes was a hurried mess, everyone running around and getting things into place. When everyone was settled and into place, Zach was standing on his front porch with two shifted wolves standing at his sides. Anyone coming from them would be greeted with him displaying only a small piece of his power.

Wyatt and Tyler stood at his side. Both were huge even for their kind, which was one of the reasons he had picked them. They were bigger than the average shifter, both of them carrying more power than even they understood. Zach was sure that one day, Wyatt would realize he was an Alpha in his own right and that Ty would be his second, whenever he ventured off to make his own pack.

He didn’t have to wait long before six wolves made their way out of the trees. The lead wolf’s steps faltered when he saw Zach, and from the way the wolves looked back and forth, they must have been communicating. The lead wolf growled and the five others fell into line behind him.

Wyatt huffed next to him, waiting for his Alpha’s order. Zach reached his hand down and ran his fingers through the younger wolf’s coat. “Not yet,” he whispered and walked off the porch.

“You are trespassing.” He didn’t shout, he didn’t need to. The wolves all growled back at him. “This doesn’t have to end in a fight. If you want to leave, I will allow it. But only this once. You have attacked two of my young and a friend of my pack, and this is the only time I’ll allow you to walk away. If you choose to fight, I promise you will lose.” He growled a few times as he talked, his wolf showing it wasn’t happy with giving them a chance to leave.

He saw two of the wolves look at each other. One of them whimpered, probably asking the lead wolf to leave. The human part of Zach felt pity for the wolf, because the leader wasn’t going to back down. That meant if the wolf was loyal to its pack, it was stuck fighting even if it didn’t want to. The wolf part of him didn’t care.

The lead wolf snapped its jaws at the one that whimpered and then turned and ran at Zach. Wyatt moved first, placing himself in front of his Alpha and taking the hit from the charging wolf. Ty moved to fight the next incoming wolf, just as the pack members hidden in the forest showed themselves. They all howled and came running out of the woods, quickly surrounding the four wolves remaining.

He heard a whimper from off to the side;  _ Wyatt’s hurt _ , his wolf told him.

Zach chose to ignore those four, as his pack had them surrounded. Instead he closed his eyes and let his wolf change his body. There wasn’t any pain, just a sensation of warmth spreading over his whole body and then a slight pinch along his joints, and then it was over and he was standing proud on four legs.

He moved fast, rushing to where Wyatt and the lead wolf were fighting. The grey wolf was smaller than Wyatt, but he must have been older and more used to fighting, because he had Wyatt pinned under him. Zachary could smell blood in the air as he lunged over the other wolf and pressed his teeth into the neck of the attacking wolf. The momentum pushed them both to the side away from Wyatt. They slammed together onto the ground, causing the smaller wolf to yelp in pain. Zach growled and squeezed his jaw tighter over the fur in his mouth, and the wolf growled at him and tried to struggle free of his teeth.

But the Alpha had the advantage and he wasn’t going to let this wolf up. The wolf below him struggled more knowing that it had two choices: fight until the Alpha holding him killed him or submit. He hoped the other wolf submitted. He would rather lock him up then have to kill him.

Unfortunately, that choice was taken away from both of them when Zach’s ears and Wyatt’s warning growl alerted him to more wolves slinking out of the woods. The smell they carried was the same of the small group they were already fighting. It seemed hiding in the woods was a plan that both sides had used.

A ball formed in Zach’s stomach as he counted the wolves Ten. Ten more had joined the fight. He closed his eyes; it wasn’t the numbers, he knew his pack could take them. But now there would be casualties. He opened his mouth around the wolfs neck under him, then bit down harder, taking more of the neck into his mouth. With a hard jerk to the left and all the pressure his jaws could apply, he broke the wolf’s neck. The body under him went limp and he dropped it to the ground. He knew the guilt would stay long after this fight was over.

The new wolves wasted no time as they entered the fight. He saw them break apart and start attacking his pack. From what he could make out, most of the fights were one on one; he growled and jumped in front of the closest enemy wolf.

This wolf was bigger and darker than the one he had just killed, putting them at similar sizes. Zach dove for the other’s hind legs hoping to damage them enough that the other wolf would have to back down. But this wolf was fast enough to spin out of his way. They growled as they circled, looking at each other, searching for weak spots to attack. The dark grey wolf snarled at him, trying to bait Zach into attacking. Zach wasn’t that stupid.

Annoyed, the other wolf lowered his head and charged. It must have decided that taking the fight head on was better than just circling each other. Surprised, Zach barely had time to dive out of the way. The attacking wolf was fast enough to sink its teeth into one of Zach’s hind legs. Zach held back a whimper from the pain as he spun around and used his front paws to scratch at the offending wolf’s face. The wolf made a hurt sound but didn’t let go.

Zach could smell his blood hit the air. As the wolf bit down harder on his leg, he growled and this time he pushed his power into it. The wave of power caught the other wolf by surprise and his mouth opened just enough that Zach could pull his leg free. The damage would heal fast, thankfully.

The wolf moved away from him, this time circling with more care. It must not have known Zach was the Alpha, and now that it did, it was trying to plan its next attack better. It knew that it had to be careful not only just of the teeth and claws but of the raw power an Alpha carried.

As they circled each other again, Zach tried to look behind the wolf, to take in the fights going on besides theirs. He was proud to see that his pack wasn’t just winning but that they had most of the rogue wolves down by death or submission. There were only a couple small fights still happening: his, Wyatt’s, and Piper’s.

The wolf he was fighting took advantage of his distraction and lunged at his throat. But before the wolf’s teeth made contact another darker form slammed into it. There was a single low growl and then a ripping sound. The wolf he had been fighting stopped moving. The black and grey wolf that had interfered in their fight turned and growled at Zach. Zach lowered his head slightly. It wasn’t a sign of submission but a way of showing he was sorry. The wolf just growled again then turned and ran off to help Wyatt.

Zach watched his pissed off second jump on the back of the wolf Wyatt was fighting. He shook his head at Matt’s attitude. Even angry, his friend was always over protective. He could have stayed still and watched Matt finish off another rouge wolf, but instead he made his way over to Piper. Unlike Matt, he didn’t jump in. He knew Piper had been trying to prove herself to her parents that she could be a fighter, so he was going to let her have her chance. He would only move in if it looked like she needed it.

The fight wasn’t as brutal as some of the others had been. It seemed both wolves were young and unsure, each attacking and diving for each other’s feet, but pulling back too fast to avoid injury. If they kept fighting like this, he would interfere just to end it. He didn’t doubt this young wolf would submit to him easily.

He felt a wolf move to stand next to him and turned his head, Matt’s muzzle was coated in blood and his yellow eyes were full of fury. Zach fought the urge to stick his tongue out and lick off the blood. It was a common gesture among pack mates, but with them it had always felt like more and he didn’t want to complicate their friendship. Instead he pressed his body close and ran his muzzle along, Matt’s neck. It was his way of saying thank you. His second huffed at him, still pissed off.

Zach rolled his eyes. They would talk when this was over. 

The last fight only lasted a few minutes before the young wolf realized he was surrounded and that it was useless to keep fighting. Zach could smell his fear when he laid down and rolled on to his back. Completely submitting to Piper. She held herself a little straighter, and looked at Zach on what she should do now.

He shifted back to human and ordered his pack to lock the rogues in the basement. It was fortified to hold wolves and he would deal with them later. He asked Matt and Wyatt to take the bodies of the dead off their territory; they would place them where they knew the rogues had been lingering around. Hopefully their leader would collect their dead and lay them to rest. If not, Zach would bury them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

He tried to hide his limp as he walked away from his pack. He had left Matt in charge and knew that it would be a long night. There was lots of blood and a few bodies that had to be cleaned up and then there were the ones that were still alive and currently locked in his basement. He would have to think about how to handle them. But for now, he wanted to check on the children and on Charlie.

He made his way into the kitchen to find Jay rushing around, Emily nowhere to be seen, pulling things out of cabinets and the fridge. It filled him with pride to see his nephew trying to get some kind of meal together for the pack. Wolves tended to eat a lot in general, but when they had to fight or heal they used more energy, so they tended to eat a great deal more. It seemed that Jay, even though he hadn’t been allowed to fight, still wanted to help. Zach quietly backed out of the kitchen and left Jay to finish. He figured if Emily wasn’t with Jay then she had already run off to see Charlie.

He made his way up the stairs towards the rooms that were left empty for company or guests. When he reached the top of the stairs and was about to turn a corner he heard Ben arguing with Brandon.

“We have to,” Ben hissed. He stopped walking and let himself eavesdrop on the two young wolves. They should know better than to fight in the hallway in a house full of other shifters. So he didn’t even feel guilty about it.

“It’s not our place. If he wanted others to know he wouldn’t hide it.” Brandon tried to whisper but he was still loud enough to be heard.

“But,” Ben’s tone told Zach that the young medic was angry, “it’s wrong.” He could hear Brandon sigh.

“I know that, and you know that, but it should be his choice. Not yours.” Zach was pretty sure he knew what they were fighting over. He had an inkling since his talk with Emily. He was about to move around the corner to let them know he was there when a question from Ben stopped him.

“And what about the law?” Ben asked, sounding pained. _Law?_ _What law had Charlie broken?_ He wondered and prayed it wasn’t something that would cause the young man to be in too much trouble.

“Technically, he hasn’t broken any that would cause the Council to pay him any attention. The ones he broke, he did here in Zach’s territory, so it would fall to Zach to decide anything.” Zach let out a relieved breath; the Council was not a group he wanted to get involved with. A group built of supernaturals from all different species that set certain laws and standards in place to keep humans from knowing about the supernatural and magic. They only got involved if someone brought on too much outside attention. Most other laws and punishments were carried out by whatever Alpha or leader caught the offending person. 

“I still think we should tell the Alpha,” Ben muttered. And Zach could tell Brandon had won their argument, so he moved away from the wall and walked towards them.

Both men’s heads snapped in his direction when they heard him coming.

“How is he?” he asked, watching them both carefully.

The other two shared a look, and he saw Ben’s shoulders fall, the blond haired medic looking at him, his face a little pale. Zach felt himself stiffen. “He’s in bad shape. If he...” Ben hesitated, 

“I think we got to him in time.” Zach could see that Ben was trying to think of a way to say whatever it was he wanted to share but the  _ secret  _ he was trying to keep was making it difficult.

Zach raised his hand to stop Ben from talking. “Is it something I need to know?” He asked, keeping any frustration out of his voice. Again, he watched the two share a look and he knew Ben wanted to tell him, but that Brandon had made his point and that left Ben stuck.

“He’s not human,” Zach said, surprising both men. “I had figured as much. Now tell me about his health.” He made it an order so that Ben wouldn’t feel guilty about sharing Charlie’s secret. But even so, he could tell Brandon wasn’t happy about it.

“If he had been human they would have killed him. As it is his wolf is barely keeping him alive. I think, if we keep him here and look after him, he will be okay. But if you send him away, I don’t think he will make it.” He heard the unsaid plea. Ben wanted his Alpha’s permission to keep Charlie here and to be allowed to look after him.

He wasn’t about to kill the man that had saved his niece’s life twice. 

“He can stay. But not a word to anyone that he is a wolf. Not until he is healed enough to defend himself.” Both wolves nodded and then rushed off towards the room they had placed Charlie in.

_ Charlie was a wolf _ , he thought. That explained why Ben was worried about laws. Charlie had been living in their territory unannounced and hiding his scent. Both would be a problem in the upcoming days as Zach’s pack would see it as an insult to their Alpha and pack that a wolf would move into their territory without Zach’s permission. Plus, the fact that he was hiding that he was a wolf would upset some of the others because they felt pride in being what they were. Seeing someone hide away would make them suspicious and angry.

Zach sighed. Charlie hadn’t seemed like a danger to the pack and it was obvious he wasn’t with the rogue wolves. It made no sense why he wouldn’t have come to ask for permission to live in the town. Charlie had put not only himself but Zach in a bad position. Hopefully the goodwill he earned tonight would protect him. But having just been attacked by strangers, he wasn’t sure how his pack would feel about having another strange wolf in the house.

“He’ll be okay, right?” Jay’s voice startled him. Zach spun around to see Jay standing behind him. He hadn’t heard him approach, so he must have been more tired than he thought to have missed that.

“I think Ben will do all he can to help him.” Jay gave a small smile.

“That’s good, Ben’s a good doctor.” Zach didn’t correct Jay; Ben would have been a great doctor if he hadn’t been attacked and turned against his will. Zach had tried to get Ben to go back to school, but the stubborn young man refused.

“Uncle Zach, you're bleeding,” Jay said, looking down towards Zach’s injured ankle.

“It’s fine. Should be healed in the next hour. How’s your cooking coming along?” Jay huffed.

“I was kicked out of the kitchen. Something about too much smoke and burning down the house.” Zach laughed. The door down the hall opened and Ben and Brandon started to make their way out of the room.

“He is sleeping, I had to give him something for the pain. I don’t think he will wake for a couple days. His body had too much damage.” Ben sounded tired. “Oh, and Emily won’t leave the room.” Jay let out a chuckle and Zach sighed. His niece was already attached to Charlie. It would be hard if he had to exile the young man from his territory at some point in the future.

“I’ll handle her. You all go check on everyone else.” He looked at Jay. “Then I want to try to get everyone who is staying here in bed.” All three bowed their heads and then left him alone in the hallway.

He made his way into the room. It was lit by a small table lamp next to a chair, where Emily was currently seated. She had a blanket wrapped around her and a small book in her lap. Even though the book was open, her attention was on Charlie, who was laid down in the middle of the bed. Either Ben or Brandon had removed his shirt and jeans, leaving the young man practically naked under the thin sheet they had covered him in. 

Zach could see several bandages covering Charlie’s chest and head. And the sheet had small spots of blood on it. The areas not covered in bandages or sheets were badly bruised. He growled as his wolf’s anger grew at seeing how hurt Charlie was, all because he had saved Emily and gotten dragged into their problems with the rogues.

Emily must have heard his growl because she looked up at him and then she was off the chair and dragging him towards it. She pushed him down and then climbed to sit half on the arm of the chair and his leg.

“Ben says he will be okay,” she whispered.

“I hope so,” he whispered back.

“Hey Em, when you guys talked did he tell you about himself, or if he had a pack?” he shifted in his seat letting her rest her head against his shoulder.

“You know he’s a wolf?” she asked. He nodded.

“He showed me,” she started, “when he found me. It was how he got me to go with him. But he didn’t talk about it. Only when we were on our way back to the pack, did he ask me not to tell anyone. He seemed scared.”

She said, raising her head to look at him. “I promised him I wouldn’t tell.” Her eyes were drooping and he knew she was falling asleep.

“It’s okay. What about pack?” It was okay, he thought, Charlie had just saved her life, so her keeping a promise to him was not something Zach was going to be mad about.

“Just him,” she mumbled. “Will he really be okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’ll be okay,” he said as he started rubbing her back. He hoped he wasn’t giving her false hope. The young man looked like crap and Ben’s worry told him that Charlie wasn’t completely out of the woods yet.

He sat there studying the young man, letting Emily fall asleep in his lap until a soft knock on the door pulled him away.

He picked Emily up and carried her to the door. He had to shift her a little to get his hand free to open the door. Matt stood in the hallway, still looking angry. When his second saw Emily, the man smiled and reached out and took her from Zach.

Confused, he raised his brow but let her be taken.

“Wyatt needs to talk to you in your office,” his second whispered, and then he walked away. He watched until Matt disappeared into Emily’s room before he headed back down the stairs and into his office. He opened the door to find Wyatt pacing and Ty sitting on the edge of his desk fidgeting with a pen.

He cleared his throat and both men froze and looked at him.

“We have a problem,” Wyatt started. “The rogues. Not all of them are pack. Or at least they don’t all smell like they are. We missed it during the fight, probably because there was so much going on that we weren’t paying attention to their scents. But as we moved the bodies and rounded the rest up, I noticed that while a few shared a pack scent,” he took a breath, “some don’t. They smell like loners.” Zach's stomach dropped.

“We still left the bodies together. I mean they attacked together so hopefully whoever is in charge, would honor the wolves and bury the ones that aren’t pack. But Alpha, this complicates things.”

Zach agreed. With a pack, if he fought off the Alpha then the others would back down and submit. But loners didn’t have an Alpha and there wasn’t anything to stop them from continuing to attack. It also would cause Charlie more problems and his pack definitely wouldn’t trust him now with loners involved. He could be involved. Not that Zach believed that.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he sat down.

“Do you think that their leader will come for the survivors? Even the ones that weren’t from his pack?” Ty asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Give me some time to think about it. And send Matt in here please,” he said dismissing them.

Both men left and closed the door behind them.

None of this made sense. He had nothing that a group of wolves could want. There was his territory but even that wasn’t as large as most packs. He didn’t control a big pack and none of his pack were gifted. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t find a reason for a group of rogues or loners to be attacking.

He had his eyes closed as he thought it over, but he did hear his door open and his nose told him that Matt had showered recently. He opened his eyes and looked at his friend. Matt’s eyes still held a hint of his wolf’s yellow.

He stood up with every intention to calm his friend down and to apologize for sending  him away, but the second he was on his feet, Matt surged forward and grabbed him, he felt his back slam into one of his walls. The impact was hard enough that a couple pictures fell off the wall.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Matt shouted at him. “I’m your best fighter, your second and you sent me away!” Zach’s wolf didn’t like the challenging tone Matt was using. He growled back but didn’t fight against his friend’s hold. “You could have gotten hurt or killed.” The fear in his voice kept Zach’s wolf from feeling truly threatened.

He brought his hands up and took hold of both of Matt’s wrists. He squeezed them and looked Matt in the eye. “Let go.” He said it softly and without his power.

Zach’s wolf knew that if Matt let him go, it would be okay. He would understand that this wasn’t a challenge at his command of the pack, that it was just his friend being upset. Matt growled again but released his hold and backed away. Zach’s wolf relaxed, and he let out a relieved breath.

“Matt, I had to. I knew we could handle this fight without you, and Charlie was dying. You were the closest to him and I owed him. He saved Emily and called to warn us, not only was she still in danger but so were others.” He moved closer and put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. His friend tried to shake it off but he held on tight until Matt let out a frustrated sound and stopped moving.

“I am sorry for ordering you.” Matt’s head snapped up to look at him, shocked. “I hate the idea of using that on you. I don’t think I have ever given you an order like that before, and I only did that because I know your stubborn ass would have ignored me otherwise and come home to fight.” He smiled. “You saved Charlie’s life tonight, Matt.”

“Probably yours too. What the hell were you thinking taking your attention off that wolf tonight?” Matt glared at him, and Zach knew they were okay.

“I had it covered,” he grinned.

Matt snorted at him, “Sure, you did. Anyways what do we do about the wolves in the basement?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Some part of him was aware of the fact he wasn’t in the same place he had been when he last lost consciousness. The alley had smelled foul like rotten food, the ground had been hard, wet, and cold underneath him. This place was warm, soft, and smelled like laundry soap, and not the cheap kind he used. Plus, the more he woke up and concentrated the more sounds he could hear. Voices echoing along walls, footsteps along hard wooden floors, even a shower running. He could also smell shifters, wolves to be precise, and his stomach twisted into knots as he tried to identify the other scent mixed in with it. A deep breath and the familiar scent of Emily and her pack finally clicked in his head. Charlie let out a small uneasy breath, at least he knew where he was now. 

With his eyes still closed he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered being attacked, but not much after that. Somehow he had not only survived the attack but gotten to the local pack house. His pulse quickened, _ did they know? _

Opening his eyes Charlie ignored the white ceiling above him and tried to sit up. Pain surged through him and he cried out as he fell back against the bed. He laid there for a second taking a couple breaths, before slowly trying to roll over. This time pain raced along his spine and it took his breath away, leaving him feeling lightheaded and dizzy. He decided that not moving was his best option; he relaxed on the bed. 

Well he tried to. But in reality, Charlie was panicking. He was hurt. He was in a pack house, with no idea how many wolves, and he was hurt. He couldn’t defend himself or run if someone chose to attack him. His stomach clenched tightly, he wouldn’t be able to stop anyone if they wanted to hurt or worse claim him. Silently he prayed his secret was still that, a secret. 

He laid there as quietly as he could for several minutes, heart racing in his chest before he worked up the nerve to try and move again. He had to bite down on his lip because of the pain as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, weak and slightly dizzy. He found himself leaning against the bed's headboard looking around the room, as he tried to catch his breath. 

The room wasn’t much, besides the bed he was on there was a dresser, a couple of nightstands, and a large recliner. The dresser was directly across from the bed. A large tv and small digital clock are the only things on it. In bright red 10:23am flashed at him, he had slept the whole night away, he winced praying his scent blockers had held out through the attack, the rain, and the night. Looking away from the dresser he counted three doors. If he had to guess the one just to the left of the dresser was the room’s entrance. The next two were off to the right, one was cracked open and he could see white tile floors, a bathroom, most likey. Which meant door number three was probably a closet. 

The minute or two it took him to take in the room, gave Charlie’s head time to stop spinning. Feeling a little better he pushed off the faded grey sheet that was covering him, and froze. He was naked except for a pair of soft cotton pants that he knew weren’t his.That uneasy feeling from before grew in his chest. Fighting not to panic he pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet. 

His vision swarmed once he was up and he had to rest his hand on the wall next to the bed to keep from falling over. Once everything stopped moving, he let go of the wall and slowly made his way to the door.

He wasn’t halfway across the room when the door cracked open and a small head was stuck in.

His panic didn’t fade when he recognized the young girl.

“You’re awake!” Emily shouted and pushed the door the rest of the way open. He winced at her volume but tried to smile at her. Before he could say anything, she rushed forward and took his hand, “You aren’t supposed to get up. Ben says you need to sleep and heal.” She started dragging him back towards the bed.

He slowly pulled his hand free, “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not!” She huffed and grabbed his hand again and pulled him. His vision blurred as he moved and he forgot to fight against her as she dragged him back to the bed.

Once he felt the bed hit the back of his knees, he remembered that he didn’t want to lay back down, and that he needed to get out of this house.

“Really Emily, I’m okay.” He tried to move away from the bed, but the stubborn little wolf just stood in his way and glared at him. He almost smiled, “I’m okay,” he tried again to reassure her.

“No, you are not.” A voice said from the door and Charlie felt his wolf stir. The man was about his height, blonde hair, brown eyes and a stren unhappy look as he looked over at Charlie. 

“Ben. I tried to get him back in bed but he isn’t listening.” Charlie looked from the strange wolf back to her and gave her a hurt look. When he heard the man move, his head snapped back towards the stranger and before he could stop it a growl broke free from his throat.

The sound surprised him enough that he jerked his mouth closed. The sudden 

movement caused his head to pound and he swayed on his feet. Through blurry eyes he saw the man hold up his hands and take a step back. 

This did nothing to stop the blind panic he was feeling now.

_ They knew! _

That’s why the man hadn’t looked surprised when he had growled. He felt his heart beating faster and faster, and the faster it beat the worse his head got. He could feel his head pounding like there was a small drum playing in his right ear. He tried to take a step back, forgetting he was already against the bed. He fell with a surprised yelp.

“Ben, maybe you should go get food.” Emily’s small voice carried through the room. To Charlie’s surprise he heard the man’s footsteps leave the room and the door close behind him. It didn’t make sense for a pack member to leave a kid, let alone an omega alone in the room with a strange wolf.

He felt the bed dip next to him and he turned to look at Emily.

“They only know you’re a wolf. They still can’t catch your scent.” She whispered, and Charlie was able to breathe again.

He smiled at her, “thank you.”

She smiled and pushed herself up.

“When Ben comes back try not to growl at him. He is the one that fixed you up.” Then with a hop she jumped off the bed and left the room.

He laid there thinking about all the possible outcomes of the pack finding out he was a wolf. He doubted they would kill him for being in their territory, _ why save him just to kill him? _ They would probably banish him. Which if he was honest with himself, was his best option; he had been planning on leaving anyways. 

He heard a knock and then the bedroom door was opened. He looked over and saw Ben carrying a tray of food. A tray with  _ a lot _ of food, more than he probably had ever had in one go. He opened his mouth to say he didn’t need that much but the smell of bacon and eggs hit him and his stomach gave a determined growl.

Ben smiled and walked towards the bed.

Charlie reacted fast, moving to sit up and put distance between them. His body protested and he had to fight to ignore the pain.

“You don’t have to be scared of me. I promise I’m not going to hurt you,” Ben tried to assure him as he placed the food on the bed and pushed it towards him.

“Sorry.” Charlie mumbled and reached for a piece of bacon. As he ate the food he kept his ears trained on the other wolf, but the man seemed content to just wait.

When he had eaten about half of the eggs and most of the fruit on the plate, he put his fork down. He looked up just in time to see Ben frown at him. It caused him to feel guilty, even if he didn’t know why.

“You should eat more.” Ben said.

Charlie looked at the plate. He had eaten what he thought was a good amount of food. 

“I’m full. But thank you.” Ben’s frown didn’t go away but the other wolf nodded and picked up the tray and a second later he was gone.

With the other wolf gone, Charlie relaxed a little, not completely; due to where he was but enough for him to start thinking about how to get out of the house before his scent blockers wore off. Truth was he was a little surprised they hadn’t faded yet. He just had to pray they stayed until he was home.

He looked around and sighed, his head was feeling a little better after getting some food into him. But he still felt weak, part of him said he should crawl back into bed and sleep like he was told. However, the wolf and his own fear told him that he should not fall asleep in the pack house with a bunch of wolves he knew very little about.

So, against his body’s wishes, he pushed off the bed again. Just like before, the room spun when he stood up but the effect didn’t last long and he slowly made his way towards the bedroom door.

This time he stopped only when he was in front of it and had his hand on the knob.  _ Could he really just walk out? Or would someone stop him?  _ His heartbeat quickened and he turned the handle and opened the door. The hallway in front of him was empty and he let out a relieved breath.

He slowly made his way down the hallway and towards a set of stairs that he could hear people’s voices echo up. Walking down that hallway hadn’t been too bad, the pain was mostly from his head but when he took that first step, it felt like his side was on fire and he bit down on his lip so he did not cry out and grabbed a hold of the rail to keep from falling down the stairs. A few painful breaths later he opened his eyes and glared at the rest of the steps. 

There was about 12 and if each one hurt as bad as the first he wasn’t sure he would make it down without falling or passing out.

He looked over his shoulder at the hallway he had just come down and debated heading back to the soft bed he had woken up in.

Annoyed with himself he took the next step down. This time he was ready for the pain, so he held his breath as he moved and clinched the rail under his hand with more strength than necessary. He wasn’t sure how long it took but when his foot finally hit the floor after the final step, he was tempted to drop to the floor and just sit there. His ribs were pounding in sync with his head and every breath he took felt like someone was hitting him in the chest.

“You should not be walking around.” A voice startled him and he jumped, and regretted it instantly when the world shifted and his vision darkened. Whoever had spoken cursed and caught him as he started to feel himself fall.

“Like I said, you should not be walking around.” The person hissed at him. He tried to open his eyes but when he did the world was still spinning, so he closed them and rested his head against whoever it was holding him. The wolf in him rumbled in its chest about how weak they were but there was nothing he could do about it.

“Is he okay?” This voice caused all his hair to stand on end and his wolf to lower its head.

“I’m okay,” he mumbled against his rescuer's chest.

The person holding him huffed, “Yeah right.”

“Charlie, what are you doing out of bed?” The Alpha asked him, and Charlie wanted to whine and apologize because the Alpha sounded unhappy with him. It caused all his instincts to burn with the want to make it better.

“I need to get home,” he said, this time pulling himself away from the chest and forcing himself to open his eyes and stand on his own. The man in front of him looked vaguely familiar, his dark hair falling over his eyes that Charlie was sure were blue, he also looked like he was waiting for Charlie to collapse. He had moved slightly to the side but kept one hand on Charlie’s arm, ready to catch him should he need it.

His paranoia told him to rip his arm free, but another part wanted to thank the man for caring.

“You can’t.” The Alpha almost growled at him and Charlie felt himself wince. It took more willpower than he wanted to admit not to drop his head.

He heard a sigh, “Brandon, please help him into my office.”

With the help of Brandon, who Charlie still couldn’t place how he knew him, he made it into the Alpha’s office. He was even shoved nicely into a large chair. when he tried to stand up, not liking the vulnerable position being seated caused, both wolves glared at him. Reluctantly he let himself fall back into the chair. He folded his arms around him and waited for whatever punishment was about to happen.


End file.
